Balanced steam-valve



(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1. G. H. OHAPPELL.

BALANCED STEAM VALVE, No. 443,450. Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

llllllllll lllllilm l WITNESSES: INVE% (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. G.H. GHAPPELL.

, BALANCED STEAM VALVE. Y

No. 443,450. Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

INVENTOI? 2'; ATTORNEY.

Tu: uonms ravens e01, mum-Lima, WASHINGTGN, n. c.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. OIIAPPELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWVENTY-SEVEN TWO-HUNDREDTHS TO JULIUS M. HEYMAN, OF SAME PLACE, AND THEODORE F. BOURNE, OF CLIFTON, NElV YORK.

BALANCED STEAM-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,450, dated December 23, 1890.

Application filed June 30, 1890. Serial No. 35 1 (N 111051913 To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. OHAPPELL,

a resident of New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Balanced Steam-Valves, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a steam-valve that will be perfectly balanced under all steam-pressures, in which the parts [0 will be strong and durable and not liable to get out of order, wherein friction will be reduced to a minimum, and any wear on the parts will be automatically taken up, and a steam-tight fit be automatically effected.

r 5 The invention consists in the details of im'- provement and the combinations of parts, that will be more fully hereinafter set forth, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompany- 2o ing drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a steam cylinder and chest, showing my valve in cross-section. Fig. 2 is a vertical 2 5 longitudinal section, enlarged, through the valve on the plane of the line 00 at, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, enlarged, on the plane of the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of a spring of the valve.

3o Fig. 5 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section on the plane of the line .2 .2, Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the steam chest and valve, showing a modification.

3 5 In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the steam-chest, which is to be connected to a steam-cylinder B. (See Fig. 1.)

D is the steam-valve within the steam-chest A, said valve extending entirely across the 42 steam-chest from the side a to the side I), and fitting at its ends snugly against said sides, but being wholly free and disconnected from the walls of the steam-chest throughout its length, so that steam can entirely envelop it 45 between its ends. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) By this means the steam-pressure is'the same on all sides of the valve and it has no seat to be pressed against by the steam, the steam being prevented from passing between the ends of 5c the valve and the sides a Z) of the chest A.

The sides or walls a b of the steam-chest A have inlet-ports d e and an exhaust-port f, said ports communicating with ports g h z' in the bottom of the chest A. The ports g and 2' connect with the supply-ports jZ of the 5 steam-cylinder B, while the port it connects with the exhaust-port m of the cylinder. (See Fig. l.) The ports (1 and e are alternately covered and uncovered by the valve D, and the valve D is preferably made cylindrical with perfectly flat ends that come against the fiat sides a b of the chest A, whereby a tight fit between the valve and the sides Ct l) of the chest is insured, while the steam encircling the valve does not interfere with its free and 6 5 easy movement.

The inlet-ports (l and e 1 preferably make in the are of a circle, (see Fig. 1,) their concavities facing each other, so that as the cylindrical valve is moved to uncover a port it will uncover a large area at the beginning of the stroke, and then gradually uncover more, whereby a large amount of steam is quickly admitted to the cylinder at the commencement of the stroke of the valve and piston. By having the port curved a larger port can be used without increasing the stroke of the valve.

I prefer to place friction-rollers n n on the under side of the valve D, which rollers ride on the bottom of the valve-chest, (see Fig. 2,) but the friction at thatpart is at a minimum, the rollers only having to support the weight of the valve, as the steam between the bottom of the chest A and the under side of the 85 valve counteracts any downward pressure on the valve, thereby putting the valve in equilibrium.

0 is the steam-inlet pipe connected to the chest A.

The valve D is made longitudinally extensible, and for this purpose is made in two sections E F, passing one within the other. (See Fig. 2. The section Fis hollow and the section E fits snugly within it, the inner end 5 of the section F coming against an annular flange G on the outer end of the section E, the outside diameter of the flange G being the same as the outside diameter of the section F, so that no shoulders will be formed no 5 o spread.

60 screw-thumbs or otherwise.

on the outside of the valve 1). The outer end of the section F is also hollowed out, as at p, to form a passage forthe cxhanststcam. The section E is also hollow from end to end,

5 so that steam can pass freely through the in tcrior of the valve, which also materially assists in balancing it, also giving the exhaust a free passage, enabling itto quickly escape,

as the hollow part ol the valve fl) always I comes over the exhaust-ports f, thereby en abling them to communicate with the inletports at the proper time. The outer end of the section E is also hollowed at q similarly to p. The transverse diameter of the valve D is greater than the length of the ports ll .7, So that said ports will always be covered throughout their length. (See Fig. S2.)

The outer ends of the sections E and F of the valve .1) should be always lirmly and snu 'l held against the sides a l of the steamchest, and in order to effectually accomplish this and to automatically take up any wear at the end of the valve l form one or more (preferably three or four) passages v in the inner end of the section F,whieh leads to the flange Gon the section E. (See Fig 2.) The passages 'r communicate by side passages s in the walls of the valve 1) with the interior of the chest A, so that steam can enter the 0 passages r and press against; the flange G of the section E, thereby moving the sections E Fol the valve in oppositedirections and holding them against the sides a b of the chest A. The transverse area of the steam-passages 7 will be proportioned to the maximum steam-pressure to be applied to the valve, so that the ends of the valve willbe held against the seats a b with sut'fieient pressure to insure a tight and lasting fit; without such a 40 pressure as would make the valve hard to reciprocatebyforcingitagainstaseat. Tokcep the steam properly in position in the passages 2', I place a tube 2 in each of said passages, which tubes project into corresponding recesscs it in the flange G of the section E, so

that when the flange G and section E become slightly separated (say through wear at the ends of the valve) the steam will be properly guided to keep the valve-sections properly By this means the wear at the ends of the valve will be automatically taken up and a steam-tight tit be etl'ccted automatically and always insured.

In order to firmly and securely connect the valve-rod II with the valve D,lplace a sleeve register with the passages s to permit steam to enter said passages through said apertures. (See Fig. 2.) The sleeve lprcfcrably extends nearly the entire length of the valve 1) and permits the sections to slide one on the other, as necessary.

To keep the two sections E and F of the valve 1) llrmly together, while also permitting longitudinal movement on each other, and to compensate for any wear between them, I place one or more springs 1 between the sections E F, as shown. Each of these springs l. is sunk in a recess a? in the outer side of the section E between the two sections E and F, as shown. Said springs have an outward tendency and press against the inner wall of the section 11. Said springs fit snugly attheir sides against the sides of the recesses of. Said springs I prefer to construct doublethat is tosay, one spring within another-and I arrange them as follows, as more clearly shown in Figs. l and (i: 7/ is an inner bandlike spring adapted to encircle the section E, said spring being of such a width as to fit tightly against the sides of the recess a". Said spring is made eccentric -that is to say, tapers gradually from itseenter toward its ends, as in Fig. 4.whereb v the desired elasticity combined with strength is derived. (Z c are two parallel spring-Minds placed sidebyside and encircling the spring h (See Fig. (3.) The ends of the springs (Z 0' break joints, and also break joints with the ends of the spring 71 (See Fig. 5.) By this means the expansion and contraction of the several parts making up the main springL are evenly regulated. By means of this improved spring the sections E and F of the valve are permitted a proper amount of movement upon each other, while a steam-tight fit is effected between said sections.

The springs l are arranged near opposite ends of the sections E and F, whereby the sections are held in proper relative positions.

A steam-valve constructed as above set forth will be found perfectly balanced under all steam-pressures, as it has no seat to be pressed against by the steam. As it is completely enveloped by steam on all sides between its ends, the pressure will be even on all sides, and thereby the valve will be balanced. Yery little power will be required to reciprocate this balanced valve, and therefore a great saving of fuel and wear and tear will be eitected. If any wear takes place at the ends of the valve, the steam in the passages will press the sections outward to take up the wear, and the sections will be held against the sides of the chest with sut'fieient pressure to make a tight fit without increas ing friction. Of course the ports (Z and 0 could be shaped otherwise than in the arc of a circle, as in Fig. 1, For instance, they could be rectangular, as in Fig. 7, in which case the ends of the valve would be also rectangular to properly cover the ports.

I do not herein claim the curved ports, as they are claimed in an application filed by me on October 1, 1890, Serial No. 366,756.

' one fitting within the other, one of said sections having a steam-passage communicating with the exterior of the valve, a tube in said passage, and a recess in the opposite section,

into which said tube projects, whereby steamin said passage and tube acts to press said sections'apart, substantially as described.

3. A steam-chest having ports on opposite sides a b and longitudinal ports connecting said ports on the sides, combined with a valve within said chest and extending across the interior of said chest from side to side, the sides of said valve being wholly free from the walls of the chest, said valve being composed of two sections fitting one within the other, and a steam-passage in one section leading to the other section, whereby the ends of the valve will be kept pressed against the sides of the steam-chest, substantially as described.

4. A valve composed of two hollow sections, one fitting within the other, combined witha sleeve 1, encircling said valve to keep steam from entering between said sections, and with the valve-rod connected to said sleeves, substantially as described.

5. A valve composed of two sections fitting one within the other, the inner section having a flange G, a steam-passage in said outer section leading from the outer wall of said seetion inwardly to the flange G to cause steam to press said sections apart, combined with a sleeve I, encircling said valve to cover the joint between said sections, and with the aperture to in said sleeve that registers with said steampassage, substantially as described.

6. A valve composed of two hollow sections fitting one within the other and having a passage entirely through them, combined with a steam-chest, within which said valve fits, and with rollers 11, carried by said valve and rest ing on a side of the chest, said valve being entirely surrounded by steam between its ends, while its ends fit against the sides of the chest, substantially as described.

7. A valve composed of two hollow sections fitting one within the other, combined with a spring between said sections, substantially as described.

8. A valve composed of two sections fitting one within the other, one of said sections having a recess situated between said sections, combined with a spring in said recess, substantially as described.

9. Avalve composed of two sections fitting one within the other, and a recess a in one of said sections, combined with a sprin gin said recess, said spring being composed of an inner spring-band and another spring-band encircling the inner spring, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two witnesses this 28th day of June, 1890.

scones n. GHAPPELL.

Witnesses:

I. H. ENHOLM, T. F. BOURNE. 

